An optometrist, who loves to travel the world, and observe every single little things. And, never fail to be playful with colours.
Friday 30 December 2011
2011
It's towards the very end of 2011, which has been amazing, with me staying in different side of the globe on the first half and the last half of my life! Two cities of which are so far apart from each other.
2011 is also a turning point of my life, that I transformed from a student, graduated and now a working profession. And, I am officially an optometrist!
A lot of things has happened and changed in 2011, and I look forward to a fantabulous 2012!
xoxo
Sunday 20 November 2011
Precious 50 hours in Kuching
We drove all the way to town, hoping to eat one of my favourite dish, Belacan BeeHoon near Song Kheng Hai Hawker Centre. Unfortunately it's closed. So we went back to a place near my house for our long-awaited glorious lunch.
We had Sotong Kangkong, Belacan BeeHoon, Rojak, Prawn Crackers. In addition to that, we had Ais Kachang and carrot juice with milk! Imagine, me and my mum finished them ALL! We could hardly walk properly as if someone bumped towards our stomach, things would spilled out. Nyeh!
12 years ago, on 9th September 1999 (9-9-99), I was still in Primary Six, and we all think it was a special day with all the nines. Us and our form teacher Mdm Chua decided on a reunion on 11th November 2011 (11-11-11). When time comes, we still remember, at least some of us. My cousin, who used to be my classmates for six years, organised this reunion. I flew back on this day and was really looking forward to meet friends whom I've not met for 12 years!!
The girls!
And we presented a gift to our form teacher, Mdm Chua, by our ex-class monitor who is also my cousin, Calvin.
All of us on the Reunion Night! We started of with a little bit of shyness, people just talk to people next to them, sticking to their own seats. Girls talked to the girls, and guys to the guys. I must admit, as some of the people came in, I have to quietly ask the person next to me, 'what's his name, again? I remember his face but I couldn't remember his name.', in return I also get 'Erm, I don't know, too!'. Sooner, I heard people calling his name and all the flasback returns! After dinner, people walked about, and keep chatting and chatting, trying to catch up what's missing in the past 12 years. It was filled with laughter that none of us even bother to sing Karaoke as we thought catching up with one another is a lot more important!
The most classic thing I heard thoughout the night was the guy who used to sat next to me in class, Jeremiah (he's the one standing next to me in the above photo), said that I'm now shorter than him, and it sounded pretty unbelieveable to him. FYI, me and a few girls in primary school used to be tallest in class, beating all the guys. He kept mention that how can I be possibly shorter than him, all night! Anyway, I accept the fact that I've not grow any taller since secondary school, but guys are meant to me taller right?
Our form teacher, Mdm Chua, also brought along 'The Book' where we wrote our wishes to her before graduate from primary school. She remembered mine clearly as I put a photo for her, haha, super 'kiasu'! I never remember I did it until I saw it. Xoxo
More photos before we left. On far right, she's Adeline and is my BFF since primary school. And the girl next to her, in electric blue shirt, she, Siaw Yun used to be my best friend in primary class, too! Now we're reunited and we have to keep in touch!
Since 11-11-11 is a special day, I'd take a picture with my long time BFF, Adeline!! Woohoo!! Xox
The night ended with lots of joys and some of them asked me to go for a drink thereafter but too bad I had a wedding to attend to the next morning.
We all should keep in touch, making some effort to get along, and say, we meet up again during Chinese New Year?
_____________________________________________________________
Mum dragged me out of bed as early as 5.30am. Yes, it's 5.30am!!! So early that the last time I woke up this early was the time I was still in Glasgow ready to depart for Malaysia. (T.T).
It was all for my cousin, Fiona's wedding. She was looking all pretty, and it's my pleasure to be there to see her tied her knot with her now-husband, Christopher.
FYI, my dad was one of the photographer for the wedding. :D
The lovely bride and groom!
For lunch, I caught up with my Aunts for lunch. I've not seen one of my aunt for more than a year now and she's now back in Kuching for good. It's always good to catch up with them!
Wedding dinner reception @ Hilton Kuching!
And that's me and my pretty cousin, Fiona, and her husband, Christopher.
And I looked so big when taking picture with them. Errr, maybe it's time for me to,.... control my too-good-weird-digestive appetite!
And, of course, this whole trip being back home is to be with my beloved family- my mum and dad!! The trip was short but I'm sure for time to come we would have more time to spend together! Love you, mum and dad!! XOXO
13th November 2011 (Sunday)
I went for my usual church service in St Thomas Cathedral, Kuching. There I get to catch up with some friends and church members. Even my Revd was shocked to see me back, thought that I'm not used to Singapore and decided to go back to Kuching for good.
At 3-ish pm, I was sent to the airport, and it ended my short trip back to my exquisite-irreplaceable Kuching. It's a place I called home.
Sunday 30 October 2011
Treat or trick?
Sunday 2 October 2011
From 4-Season to the tropics
Thursday 29 September 2011
Motivated!
Today, a patient came in complaining of 'overlapping vision'. This is the first time I heard of someone describing vision as this. I was sure this patient will be interesting when he said he got it one day when he woke up. I was anticipated to check his eyes in detail.
Initially I thought what he means by 'overlapping vision' could be a case of serious astigmatism (散光). I came across a lot of people saying they see double but actually it is just blurred.
I carried on with my investigation and found out that he has lateral rectus palsy. Lateral Rectus is one of the muscle inside the eye causing one of his eye unable to look to one side, causing his double vision.
As it is a sudden onset and he is in his 40's so I referred him to the hospital for further evaluation of the nervous system. I reassured him of the treatment options and if there's nothing they can do at hospital level, I will need to prescribe him with prism glasses.
For your information, each of our eyeball is surrounded by six muscles, and each has different function. Trust me, this topic is one of the toughest in uni. All six muscles are differently controlled by third, fourth and sixth cranial nerve, connected to the brain. Commonly lateral rectus palsy is caused by birth trauma as it is controlled by the sixth nerve, located near the side of our head. It's palsy causes esotropia, in-turned of the eye. Eye muscles of both eyes must be balanced in order to see 3-D vision, no double vision, and good depth perception. If you need more information about muscles of the eye, drop me an email. If you have real life story, share with me!
..........
In routine optometric practice, the most problems and symptoms are easily solved by giving a pair of glasses. When there's challenging cases like my patient today, it really boost my passion and anticipation. Solving a complicated eye condition is just the same as the joy of solving a difficult mathematics question!
I declare that I have never regret to start on this route as an optometrist. Once I started university in Glasgow, I have never look back since. Call me an eye freak! Haha!
The health of your eyes is my main concern.
Till then! xoxo
Saturday 17 September 2011
Exclusive: Enrique Iglesias Live in Glasgow June 2011!!!
Enrique it is!! Opening song was Tonight (I'm Lovin' You), bringing the mood up to the max that evening. Everyone was up on their feet, moving with music!! It was just like a huge club with live band!
#4
Enrique invited a pair of Scottish couple on stage.
Enrique: "... what's your name?"
Girl: "Jeanette" (pronounced gee-nett)
Enrique: "Gee-nett? Like Jeneatte?" (pronuonced Janet)
Girl: "Jeanette" (pronounced gee-nett)
Enrique: "Gee-nett? How do you spell it?"
Girl: "Jai-e-a-n-e-t-t-e" (in Scottish, 'J' pronounced as 'jai')
Enrique: "Oh Jeanette!" (he pronounced it as Janet, as it's how the American pronounced)
"Are you Scottish?"
It was such a cute conversation between him and Scottish! It was how I felt when I first went to Glasgow trying to understand the locals.
# 11
"I can be your hero baby,
I can kiss away the pain,
I will stand by you forever,
you can take my breath away.."
"...but you can't escape my love"
And the concert ends with another round of 'Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)'. It was such an AMAZING and FUN-FILLED night with all the hip and dance! We want more of his songs but too bad time has come to an end. I would not hesitate to go to his other concert!
I heart Enrique Iglesias!!!!
p/s: I was supposed to upload a video from the concert but it takes too long to load. Will try some other time. Hope you enjoyed this post!
Thursday 15 September 2011
New location
Stay tuned for more updates! Will try to update once a week! I have lots of long overdue blog!
Sunday 14 August 2011
Now then I know, haha!
Anyway, it's such a small world that I'm in Miri, working as an intern to promote my university in Glasgow, and the colleague here turned out to be a girl who went to the same college as me when I did my A-levels. I answered questions by students, also by colleagues. I think I'm doing a pretty good job telling people about Glasgow. I'm just sharing the truth and I really like Glasgow as a place to live in.
With this internship opportunity, I do not just share about Glasgow but also about making friends. Glad that my classmates in Glasgow are uber nice that we still keep I'm touch!
The colleague here in Miri, told me about what other courses (students from our college) think about my A-Levels gangs back I'm 2005 to 2006. They thought we were a bunch of clever kids (not really for me) who do not need to study yet having good results. They often see us walking around campus happily, always cheering in a big gang. We always know how to have fun! I thought we were just a bunch of crazy college students, who dont care about anything else except that we treasure friendship. Other school/class students do know about our existence. I'm surprised!
I was flipping through my old school certificates folder, I realized that I was such an active super girl who joined lots of competitions and activities that I couldn't really recall. Now that I have turned older, energy level reduced, that I'm not as active as I used to.
Hey, how old am I? I should get my energy pumped up and live a healthier happier life!
Wednesday 10 August 2011
Work-related Travels
Guess where I was? And where I am? It is sometimes difficult to keep track of my whereabouts, unless when I start my full time job.
Yes, I was in Tanjung Aru Resort of Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah. I was there in KK doing internship for INTO Scotland for my university in Glasgow. It was a great and fun experience studying in glasgow. People had been so friendly In Glasgow and fun-loving! Friends I known from my university visited my another friend who lives in KK. So, my KK friend brought us out after my work at GES Global. We went to Tanjung Aru Resort for the orangey sunset. It was really warm (where I got a bit of tan) but it's worth it!
It is a place recommend to go to, that you do not need to fly all the way to Santorini for the oh-so-expensive sunset!
Sunday 24 July 2011
Missing Scotland
Withdrawal syndrome is fairly common after returning for good, from a place that I dearly love. Even if I stay there for longer, this day has to come.
I still remember just about two weeks ago in Glasgow, me and my parents were on a taxi to our car rental place, the taxi driver said to me, "Oh, I love your accent. Where are you from? You have a wee bit of Glaswegian accent!". Haha! I said, "Really? Well, I've been here for four years so I might have pick up some!" People said I've pick up some of the accent and I'm really happy of it! I hope not to loose it! I need to practice using 'aye', 'wee',... and other slang here. I'm pretty sure some people would give me a face. Haha!
Although I'm not a Scottish but I'm proud to have been there for four years, meeting really nice people, making my life in Scotland so wonderful. I would definitely go back again one day for a visit and reunion with my friends in university.
When I landed in Singapore on 15th July, I teared. It rained before I boarded to my another flight back to Kuching, and I hallucinated it as snowing. I did not do it on purpose but it just popped up in my brain that it snowed. Another incident was that I woke up from jetlag the next morning very tiredly, thinking it's so bright outside and it must be just 5am in the morning! (It won't happen in Malaysia to have sun already out at half past four in the morning, only UK!)
I need to settle down and to adapt to the weather first. I do not want anymore headache because of the heat!
x.o.x.o
Monday 18 July 2011
A new chapter
It's a new page of life, with lots of adaptations to cope. First thing, jet lag!
Saturday 25 June 2011
This is my month
June is the busiest month of the year for me. (Well, apart from the months I need to rush for my final year project, and studied for exams)
Not just busiest, also the most fruitful like an apple tree!
What I've done so far for the month needed a list:
1) Johnson & Johnson day trip to London, visiting their Vision institute.
2) Catch up with friends
3) 7th June: Most nerve-wrecking day of the month. Got my result and I'm graduating.
4) Catch up with friends for drinks and dinner
5) Friends visiting Glasgow from Manchester and Aberdeen
6) Enrique Iglesias concert (the hottest concert I've ever been to. Will blog about it in near future)
7) Had lobster for lunch and dinner in a same day! Life's good!
8) 8 days trip to French Rivera, visited Nice, Antibes, Saint Paul de Vence, Eze Village and Cannes (yes, the place you always see on TV: Cannes Film Festival.) of France. Of course, I went to the oh-so-posh-I-want-to-drive-a-Ferrari Monte-Carlo of Monaco.
9) Trip to Manchester
10) Bon Jovi Open Air Concert, with 46,000 audiences in Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
11) Mum & dad coming to Glasgow
12) My birthday to Fort William/Mallaig (coming soon)
13) My GRADUATION! (coming soon)
14) Family holiday begins! (coming soon)
What a busy and tightly-scheduled month!
Will update soon!!
Thursday 23 June 2011
Bagpipes + shopping
By the way, the summer sale is excellent! High street boutique like Mango has 50% discounts storewide. How amazing is that. Only if I have more money, I will definitely buy more.... I am saving up for upcoming trips.
I feel so good about shopping in UK when the sales is simply tempting. In Malaysia, we do have mega sales two to three times a year but I must say the discounts are not as good as what we get here in UK.
Another thing about loving to shop in Glasgow is that you will listen many street performers on the main shopping streets, especially Buchanan Street. Everytime after being abroad for a while, listening to bagpipes performer on shopping street, I feel so warm at heart. I will definitely missed all these good stuff after I return to Malaysia.
The above is a video if you're interested in listening to bagpipes. It's good and this is one of my favourite, Scotland the Brave.
I must say, I will take things slowly to wrap up my heartiest love to UK, especially Glasgow. I will be back again soon. Even after I'm back in Malaysia, I will still post about UK as I still have a lot of stuff to share.
Till then, x.o.x.o
Wednesday 22 June 2011
I'm back from French Rivera
Arrived in Glasgow last night after a delayed flight. As I went through the border check passport control, I am so happy to be home, listening to the Scottish accent of people surrounding me. Scotland is a place I say "home".
Paris is not the only place to visit in France. I highly recommend French Rivera, south of France. I went to Nice, Antibes, Saint Paul du Vence, Eze Village and Cannes of France. Of course, I stayed a night in the oh-so-posh-and-expensive Monte-Carlo of Monaco, the secong smallest country in the world after Vatican city. French Rivera truly explains France. The weather there is loveable by many, with lots of people sunbathe at the beach. When we were there, there was just one night that it rained a bit, otherwise, it was all sunny!
I will continue my travelblog soon! Stay tuned! xoxo
Sunday 19 June 2011
Bonjour
I love this place very much and now I totally understand why celebrities love to visit here. I was hoping to spot one celebrity but my luck was pretty bad.
It's a really small area that you can explore in just one day and you could spend the rest of it on the sandy beach, getting some nice tan or even playing beach volleyball!
Till then!! Will update again!
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Be right back!
Will be away from Glasgow for a week,.. stay tuned for more exciting photos of my upcoming trip!
I will try to upload some photos during my trip.
xoxo
Thursday 9 June 2011
Four years....
Graduation ceremony will be on 29th June, so after I get my certificate, I would change my status to a graduate optometrist.
Sunday 22 May 2011
A foreign place yet I know so well.
For the my first 20 years, I've been using notes and coins in Malaysian currency, Ringgit. When I first arrived in UK, I have to stand at the cashier point for a while when paying to make sure I give the right notes and coins. I have came out with a system to sort out coins so that I dont get mixed up. Now, I am capable of using my sense of touch to identify coins like I've been living here for ages.
After years in Scotland, I started to use slang/words like "aye" means yes or "wee" means little, without noticing. I've been told by many (including Irish, English and Scottish) that I have Scottish accent, in which I am happy of. I come all the way from Malaysia, not only to study but also to learn about the culture, people, and lifestyle here. I love Scotland.
When I leave Glasgow, I am sure it will be a really emotional day for me. When I think of it, the feeling comes. Nevertheless, I will be back to visit the country and friends at some point.
Saturday 7 May 2011
Packing
I am officially not a student anymore (well, not quite until I've done my interview for my final year project), and I need to move a step forward as I will be let loose in the public as a professional. It is scary but it's the stage of life that I need to face. There won't be anymore three months summer holiday, no more occasional day-off from university, and also no more student discounts.
Now, I am trying to accomplish a huge project, which is to clear my room with four years of cumulative stuff. Four years may seems to fly by with a few blinks but with bits and pieces putting together, is indeed, scary to the most. I can never imagine how much stuff I need to ship home, and when they arrive in Malaysia, what should I do with them?
It's time to pack, not just my boxes of stuff, also my feeling and affection for UK. Time to give it a wrap.
x.o.x.o
Monday 2 May 2011
Where would you like to travel to?
In short, I really enjoy my stay in UK with all the exposures I get, seeing different cities and of course, to study hard.
With my passion of travel, I love to read Yahoo! Travel Featured Articles section, to find out interesting tips, places to go and fun stuff about travels. One main thing about travel is that you need to save money before you travel and you will (most likely to) return home, skint.
I was reading the articles "Cheapest city breaks this Spring" and "Cheapest Holiday Destinations for 2011" (click on the titles to read in details), and I would agree with some of the facts.
One thing that I am still really proud of is be able to fly directly to Paris from Glasgow Prestwick Airport, for only £10 return. That is the amount of money you would need to spend for a nice main course of a meal. The thing is, your airticket can be so cheap but the local expenses at your destination may cause a bomb in your pocket when you are just trying to have a weekend away.
Here's the adaptation from the article of how much you would need to spend for holiday costs including accommodation, meals, drinks, travel and sightseeing. See below:
For those in Malaysia, in case you wonder about the foreign exchange rate to Pounds (£) from Malaysian Ringgit (RM), £1 = RM5.05. You can do the rest of the math yourself.
City | Country | Total basket price |
Riga | Latvia | £114.92 |
Prague | Czech Republic | £134.79 |
Budapest | Hungary | £136.06 |
Tallinn | Estonia | £142.04 |
Warsaw | Poland | £144.18 |
Lisbon | Portugal | £149.93 |
Dublin | Ireland | £160.78 |
Berlin | Germany | £192.74 |
Edinburgh | UK | £202.85 |
Barcelona | Spain | £217.89 |
Bruges | Belgium | £228.62 |
London | UK | £237.10 |
Amsterdam | Netherlands | £242.42 |
Rome | Italy | £247.50 |
Paris | France | £253.74 |
Copenhagen | Denmark | £256.77 |
Boston | USA | £259.89 |
New York | USA | £305.97 |
Stockholm | Sweden | £313.64 |
It is amusingly interesting that Stockholm, Sweden is rated as the most expensive among all. I would nod my head twice as hard to agree with that. I stayed in a shared dorm hostel in Stockholm, and a night of cost was the same amount of money I would need to spend for a night in London or Paris. Imagine that! Many people may have thought London is the most expensive places and I would say "NO!". There are lots of little cafes, supermarket, fast food store within your close proximity in London, and that is how you can save on food. In Stockholm, a meal in their local fast food restaurant allows me to buy TWO meals in McDonalds of London. For all the places I've highlighted in RED, I still think Edinburgh is much cheaper than Dublin as a general observation.
Some random picture of me in London as you might have already seen it before. I'm just trying to make this post least dry.
Now it's to compare among countries around the world for their local expenses that includes coffee, beer, cola, water, sun cream, insect repellent, and a three course evening meal for two, including wine.
Position | Country | Typical price |
1 | Portugal | £32.84 |
2 | Spain | £36.68 |
3 | Czech Republic | £37.98 |
4 | Bulgaria | £39.39 |
5 | Sri Lanka | £40.62 |
6 | Hungary | £43.52 |
7 | Thailand | £44.26 |
8 | Mexico | £45.36 |
9 | Kenya | £45.99 |
10 | Malaysia | £47.68 |
11 | Indonesia | £47.96 |
12 | Croatia | £57.32 |
13 | Cyprus | £57.76 |
14 | Majorca | £57.81 |
15 | Greece | £58.30 |
16 | Turkey | £59.83 |
17 | Japan | £62.32 |
18 | Malta | £63.04 |
19 | Tenerife | £65.48 |
20 | South Africa | £65.62 |
21 | France | £70.72 |
22 | Dubai | £72.25 |
23 | Italy | £73.44 |
24 | China | £80.24 |
25 | Egypt | £80.46 |
26 | Jamaica | £82.53 |
27 | Brazil | £87.73 |
28 | Antigua | £90.83 |
29 | USA | £92.47 |
30 | Mauritius | £100.42 |
31 | Singapore | £105.83 |
32 | Barbados | £111.27 |
33 | New Zealand | £111.37 |
34 | Canada | £119.32 |
35 | Hong Kong | £138.64 |
36 | Australia | £157.51 |
This is just an idea suggested by Yahoo!Travel. Australia is now at the bottom of the list, with it's exchange rate higher than US Dollar. I would think it's worth travelling to America than to Australia now. What do you think?? For those who have not been to Malaysia, YOU HAVE TO.
I still love London, and I think it's still the best place in the world if you want a good combination of sight seeing, food, and shopping. Also, it's easy to travel within the area but be warned it's always jam-packed and the locals are a bit too calm towards tourists. Occasionally, you would feel as if you're not in the England when the charming-yet-confusing English accent not heard as often on the streets unless you enter a shop. I've been to London quite a few times and I would still love to go. (p/s: I have London trip coming up again)
If you prefer somewhere more relaxing and friendlier, Scotland it is. This is where I study and a place I can call 'home abroad'. It is also much cheaper here. The Scottish highland is a must visit place that the scenery is picturesque as you see in a postcard, but be aware of the moody Scottish weather.
Here are some pictures of Scotland and they are not any downloaded pictures. I should have more but pictures were kept in my other storing area.
Hope you enjoy reading and might anticipate your desire to get away from town for a while.
x.o.x.o